title: Decision maker perceptions of resource allocation processes in Canadian health care organizations: a national survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Resource allocation is a key challenge for healthcare decision makers. While several case studies of organizational practice exist, there have been few large-scale cross-organization comparisons.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between January and April 2011, we conducted an on-line survey of senior decision makers within regional health authorities (and closely equivalent organizations) across all Canadian provinces and territories. We received returns from 92 individual managers, from 60 out of 89 organizations in total. The survey inquired about structures, process features, and behaviours related to organization-wide resource allocation decisions. We focus here on three main aspects: type of process, perceived fairness, and overall rating.
  
  
  RESULTS
  About one-half of respondents indicated that their organization used a formal process for resource allocation, while the others reported that political or historical factors were predominant. Seventy percent (70%) of respondents self-reported that their resource allocation process was fair and just over one-half assessed their process as 'good' or 'very good'. This paper explores these findings in greater detail and assesses them in context of the larger literature.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Data from this large-scale cross-jurisdictional survey helps to illustrate common challenges and areas of positive performance among Canada's health system leadership teams.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Epidemiology & Evaluation, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, 7th floor, 828 W 10 Avenue, V5Z1M9, Vancouver, BC, Canada. neale.smith@ubc.ca
authors.forename: Neale
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mitton
authors.forename: Stirling
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bryan
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Bonnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Urquhart
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peacock
authors.forename: Cam
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Donaldson
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D006270:Health Facility Administrators / Q000523:psychology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D009313:National Health Programs; D040841:Resource Allocation / Q000379:methods*; D012935:Social Justice; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires